Imagine this foolish mortal's chagrin when I found that the haunted mansion that overlooks Hazard Square from its lofty position on Packer Hill in Jim Thorpe was not haunted.

After all, I truly believed I was at one of the Holy Grails of Haunted Houses.

But, this haunted house hosts nary a glimmer of a ghost.

At least that's the determination of Pat Handwerk, whose family operates the splendid bed and breakfast within the mansion's decidedly Gothic walls and adjacent carriage house.

As one treads the walkway toward the Harry Packer Mansion, there is a sense of looming gloom. After all, when Imagineers at the Walt Disney Co. were searching for models for their proposed Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World, they discovered this gem and appropriated certain architectural elements in the design of the Florida attraction. Other inspirations included some famous mansions along the Hudson River in upstate New York.

And, the web address of this un-haunted haunted mansion is a somewhat foreboding www.murdermansion.com.

But, the Handwerks, who have owned the building since 1983, are steadfast in their denunciation of all things ghostly.

If its Sunshine State descendant has 999 ghosts (and room for one more), the Harry Packer has not one.

There are no stretching portraits, no Corridor of Doors, and Madame Leota is nowhere to be found.

Built by Asa Packer as a wedding gift for his son (Asa's mansion - also un-haunted, its owners say - is next door), the mansion has undergone significant changes since it was built in 1874.

The most recent were the sweeping renovations done by the Handwerks, who rescued it from a near crumbling condition.

But, its web address references a recurring event that sets it apart from other inns and pays homage to the mansion's foreboding faé?ade.

If there were ghosts in the Harry Packer Mansion, they would be the spirits of the many murders that have been committed there.

Mock murders, that is.

Or, were they?

The B&B hosts Murder Mystery Weekends virtually every weekend throughout the year, and it touts the plots as being "based on factual events," but with a "creative twist."

Moreover, the crimes revolve around the millionaire coal and transportation barons of the Packer family - and are pure fiction.

Or, are they?

Up to 11 couples can participate in the weekend events that begin with a Friday night orientation, case presentation and role assignments and continue throughout Saturday. On Sunday is breakfast and checkout.

The mansion features two suites and four rooms, and the carriage house has one loft suite, two deluxe rooms and two standard rooms.